Beet topper



s; A. eoousow.

BEET TOPPER APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1', 1920.

, Patented June 20,1922.

I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' STEPHEN Afioonsmu.

attoung s. A. eoonsow.

BEET TOPPER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I, 1920- Patented 1m 20, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- UNITED STATES STEPHEN A. GOODSON, OF HILLSBORO, ILLINOIS.

B'nn'r TOPPER.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Applicationfiled September 1, 1920. Serial 110.40%,324.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, STEPHEN A. GoonsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hillsboro, in the county of Montgomery and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Beet Toppers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to ,make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in beet toppers and has for its primary object the provision of means for,raising the beet tops off of the ground and guiding the same into engagement with a knife. 7

Another object of this inventionis the provision of a combined knife supporting means and guide for the beet tops and which is adapted to adjust itself both vertically and laterally of the device so as to follow a row of beets and adjust itself as to the height and size of the various beets.

A further object of this invention is the provision of means for forcing and holdmg the beet tops into engagement with the knife.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means whereby the driver or operatorcmay easily guide the device and cause it to travel at an angle to the line of draft power so that a row of beets may be easily followed.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a beet topper of the above stated character which will'be sim 1e, durable and eflioient, and which may be manufactured and sold at a comparatively low cost.

With these and other objects in view, as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination. and arrangement of parts as will.

be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description, and accompanying drawings, in which b Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating a beet topper constructed in accordance with my invention,

Figure 2 is a front elevation illustrating the same,

Figure 3 is a top plan view illustrating the same, a t

Figure 4- is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 4-4 of'l igure 3,

Figure 5 is a detail view illustrating the Patented June 20, @922, l

platform 1 has side portions 5, to the rear corners of which are secured downwardly extending rods 6 that are bent to "extend rearwardly and laterally to form axles 7 on which are journaled ground wheels 8; thus it will be seen that the axles cooperate with "the platform in permitting the device to straddle a row o'f beets. Braces 9 are secured to the lower -ends of the vertical rods 6 and to the forward corners of the side portions '5 of the platform 1 to provide a substantial construction. A draft tongue 10 has its "rear portion enlarged as illustrated at 11 and pivoted to the platform 1 so that said tongue and platform may have pivotal movement in rela-' tion to each other. Laterally and rear wardly extending feet rests 12 are formed on the enlarged portion 11 of the draft tongue 10 and provide a construction whereby the operator or driver may cause the device to travel at an angle in relation to the line of draft thus easily guiding the device along a row of beets. 7

Blades 13 are secured to the vertical. rods 6 and are inclined in the directionof their rear ends so that the forward ends may readily pass under the tops of the beets and gradually raise them as the machine or device moves forwardly. ,Rearwardly extending guide members 14. are pivoted for lateral movement to the rear ends of the blades 13 and have their rear ends pivotally connected the row of beets.

One of the arms 2 extends rearwardly further than the other arm and has formed thereon a segmental rack 18 which is associated with a pivoted controllinglever 1.9. The controlling lever '19. has its, upper end or, handle disposed in close proximity to the seat 4 so that the operator can readily actuate the same .while the lower end ex tends in a plane below the platform and has journaled thereto a shaft 20. A latch dog 21 is carried by the lever 19 and is controlled by a grip on the handle of the the latch dog to engage the teeth of the segmental rack 18. I r 4 A reel 22 is secured to the shaft 20 and is disposed directly over the guides 14 and 'consistsof a hub 23 provided with radially extending spokes 24 on which are formed transversely disposed fingers 25 adapted during the rotation of the reel to engage the .beet tops. when passing through the guide elements 14 and force and hold them .into engagement with the knives so that during the forward motion of the device the beet tops will be severed by the knives. A sprocket gear 26 is secured to theshaft 20 and has trained over the same an endless chain 27 that is in turn trained over a sprocket 28 secured to one of the ground wheels 8 whereby the reel is driven by the forward motion of the device.

lVhile I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention what. I claim is:

A beet topper including a supporting structure upwardly and rearwardly inclined blades carried by said supporting structure and adaptedto lift beet tops from engagement with the ground, flexible guide anem bers extending rearwardly from the blades and having pivotal connection therewith and adapted to receive the tops from said blades, said members converging towards their rear ends and having said ends spaced and pivotally connected with each other circular knives carried by said members and .means for forcing the tops in contact with the knives. I

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN A. GOODSON. Witnesses: I

EDWARD H. MCDOWELL, JOHN T. SHINDLER. 

